Samuel a



s. A. OTIS.

Railway Track Scraper.

Patented June 2-, 1868.

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SAMUEL A. OTIS, or BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

Letters Patent No. 78,537, dated June 2, 1868.

IMPROVED RAILWAY-TRACK SGRAPBR.

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I SAMUEL A. OTIS, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk,and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Track-Scrapers; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is afull and exact description thereof, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings,- and to the letters of reference markedthereon.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to-describe its nature, construction, and use.

The nature of myinvention consists, first, in arranging the two shoes ofa scraper and the connecting parts in such a manner that the shoesmayautomatically adjust themselves to the varying gauge of the track;second, in combining with the shoe :1 small roller, which allows theshoe to run very nearly but not quite in contact with the rail; third,combining with the scraper a peculiar device, so arranged that thescraper inay be raised from or lowered to the track by a lever, whichmay be operated by the foot or hand. i

I Drawings.

Figure I is a side elevation of a part of a car, showing my improvedtrack-scraper attached.

Figure 2-is a plan of the same.-

Figure 3 is an end elevation of the same.

In all the drawings, B 13 represent the shoes or scraper, shaped asshown inthe drawings, each being provided with a small truck-wheel, K,which serves to keep the shoe slightly elevated above the track, andconsequently to save the wear of theshoe.

M, figs. 2 and 3, isa rod, passing freely through the shoes, having ahead or screw-nut on each end, one of which is shown in fig. 1 by P. Q Qare sleeves, sliding freely upon the rod M, one end of eaehbearingagainst the shoe, and the opposite end against the forked soring O 0. Bythe above arrangement of the rod M, sleeves Q, and spring 0, it will beseen that the shoes BB maybe made to approach each other, and thusaccommodate themselves to a narrow gauge, the length of the .rod Mbeingsuch as to admit of the shoes B B fitting upon the widest gaugelikely to occur on ordinary roads."

To admit 0f the above-described action, the supporting-arms C C of theshoes are made-flexible.

R R are housings, upon which the arms 0 G'are hinged. L is a lever,attached to the bar C. E is a link, attached to the lever L, and to thearmF of the rocker-shaft D, so if the said rocker-Shaft is operated, asit may be, by the lever G, the end of the lever L will be raised orlowered, carrying with it the arm 0 G and shoes 1313. G G are two arms,extending from the lever G, which serve as levers to be acted upon bypressure of the foot; thus, in fig. 3, by pressing hard upon the arm G,it will be pushed over towards T, which action would. raise the, arm F,and, through it, the link E the lever L, and thus the shoes B B. If thefoot be placed upon the arm G, fig. 3, the shoes 13 B will be borne harddown upon the track.

T, fig. 3, is a circular plate, having a number of perforations, asshown, into which the pin, not shown ir. the drawings, attached to thehandle H, may enter, and thus hold the lever (Land consequently theshoes 13 B, in any desired position. i

What I claim as my'invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination and arrangement of the shoes'B B, sleeves Q Q, rod M,and fork O O, substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination, with the lever G, in a trackscraping machine, of thefoot-lever G G, substantially as described and for the purpose setforth.

3. The combination and arrangement of the leverL, the link E, and therocker-shaftl), made substantially as described and for the, purpose setforth.

SAMUEL A. OTIS.

Witnesses:

FRANK G. PARKER, A. HUN Bnunr.

